Photo by jacoblund via iStock
The photography gear you own is likely well-suited for portrait photography. A good camera in one of the professionally capable formats, a lens choice that includes short telephoto, a decently fast aperture, and some lighting equipment are a good start for your portrait photography gear bag.
A few well-chosen portrait photography accessories will round out your capabilities to easily capture great portrait photography images. Some lighting modifiers, a wireless remote control, a true soft focus filter, and a secure and readily accessible method of carrying your portrait photography gear will add to your ability to capture great portrait images.
Table of Contents:
- Portrait Photography Accessories
- Altura Flash Diffuser Softbox
- Pixel Wireless Remote
- Tiffen Diffusion Filter
- Holdfast Tanker Belt
- Portrait Photography Post-Processing
- Other Recommended Photography Gear
Portrait Photography Accessories
Photo by Djavan Rodriguez via iStock
You will want to use portrait photography accessories to complement your existing camera and lens setup to enable you to do something photographically you couldn’t do without the accessory or possibly to allow something more easily than without the accessory.
For example, you can take a photograph in any lighting condition, but controlling the light allows you to create a better image than simply using whatever ambient light there is.
That’s what photography accessories can do for your photography, whether portrait photography or any other imaging style. This also works for videography and true cinematography in addition to portrait photography.
Altura Flash Diffuser Softbox
Your lighting configuration can significantly affect any portrait photography you’re trying to do. But you don’t always have the room or the time to set up multiple lights for the basic portrait photography lighting configurations.
Flash units become your friend in these situations, but a direct flash, unmodified, is not very flattering or conducive to quality portrait photography. There are a wide variety of light modifiers we could use, but the convenience of sticking to an on-camera flash is nice when shooting on the go or at a moment’s notice.
The Altura Flash Diffuser Softbox fits directly on your flash unit and diffuses the light to a softer quality which is better for most portrait photography. It works exactly like a larger softbox that you might be mounting to your studio strobes or LED light panels. It comes in 3 sizes, allowing a range of diffusive light quality.
Pixel Wireless Remote
One of the methods I like to use in my portrait photography is to mount my camera on a tripod, set up a simple two or three-light portrait photography lighting configuration, and use a remote control to trigger the shutter release wirelessly. At the same time, I move around and subtly direct the subject into various poses.
The Pixel TW-283 is a nice remote that you can use wirelessly or wire directly to your camera. It can activate the AF control in addition to snapping the shutter, plus it has modes for delay and interval shooting. It can also be used as an ultra-long exposure timer.
Learn More:
- Durable Gear for On-the-Go Photographers
- 4 Reasons Why a Camera Belt is Better than a Camera Strap
- Essential Camera Accessories
Tiffen Diffusion Filter
You can do almost anything to your image files in post-processing, but some things are still better captured optically in-camera instead of adjusting the image file afterward. Soft focus is one of those effects that is subtly improved by using a high-quality soft focus or diffusing filter.
Tiffen Black Pro-Mist ¼ is one of those high-quality optical-grade glass filters for truly superb soft-focus portrait photography. This model’s strength is labeled as ¼, and the effect can be modified by adjusting the lens aperture and over or underexposing. As a bonus, use this for your video recordings for an old-school cinematographic feel.
Holdfast Tanker Belt
You want to have your new portrait photography accessories ready to use, so the carrying solution of a HoldFast Tanker Belt. What makes this belt so usable is its strength and versatility.
It’s versatile because you can mount almost anything, including all your portrait photography accessories and other photography gear. The strength comes from being made of bridle weather or water buffalo leather and the unique two-belt strap design.
The inner strap keeps the belt securely around your waist, and the outer strap allows all sorts of pouches, clips, and wallets to be attached without sagging your pants as a construction tool belt does.
Like everything from HoldFast Gear, the Tanker belt is beautifully made and high-quality. Check out the informative video above from the HoldFast YouTube Channel to learn more.
Portrait Photography Post-Processing
The final part of your portrait photography accessories list should be a good post-processing program. The Photoshop Darkroom: Creative Digital Post-Processing is available as a paperback book or on Kindle.
I never advocate using post-processing to save otherwise less-than-great images, but it can improve your finely crafted photos by tweaking them to perfection or adding a subtle special effect such as a color cast or some digitally manufactured soft focus effects.
These portrait photography accessories will let you do more things for your portrait photography or do them better and more easily. Give them a try, and see what results you get!
Other Recommended Photography Gear
Learn More:
- Essential Portrait Photography Gear
- How To Wow a Photography Client
- Ditch Your Camera Bag for this Photography Belt